Conventional box-type pet dryers have a structure in which a casing and an electric control device part are formed integrally and they are together incorporated in the dryers. Those box-type pet dryers have been manufactured for small, medium and large-sized dogs, respectively. Because of the integrally incorporation, if a failure occurs at customers, the customers have to ship back the entire dryers. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that large cost is required for the shipping. Further, when customers want to extend the box-type pet dryers after purchasing them, there are inconveniences, such as requiring large cost because they need to purchase new products.
In order to speed up the drying, when the inside of the casing is heated by a heater to raise the temperature up to around 40° C., since the conventional casing is made of metal, there is an inconvenience that heat dissipation from the casing surface is large and, thus, requiring more power. In addition, the room temperature increases by the heat dissipation from the casing, and more power is required for cooling.
Conventionally, the drying is achieved by heat and wind; however, the drying performance is reduced by an increase in humidity inside the casing. Thus, a predetermined gap is provided in a front door or the like, and external air is taken in from a lower part while exhausting warm air from an upper part. This induces further unnecessary power consumption, and dispersion of hair of animals in the room, which is originally dispersed inside the casing. Therefore, this circumstance is not good for health of trimmers of pets.
In a conventional box-type dryer for large-sized dogs, a partition plate can be inserted into an intermediate part of the casing in order to simultaneously dry two dogs, a small-sized dog and a medium-sized dog. However, when the partition plate is not necessary, the partition plate causes a trouble of its storage space.
The dryer has a structure in which a duckboard is provided in a lower part of storage to separate a dog from excrement, and warm air is blown into the casing. Thus, it is easy to dry near the blowing side of warm air, but the drying is slower at the opposite location. Therefore, the drying is not uniform in the case of the large-sized dog, and it takes more time to finish the drying. Same problem is also caused when simultaneously drying a small-sized dog and a medium-sized dog (the term “drying” as used herein for the box-type dryer refers to a half dry state, and hair setting cannot be done if the hair is dried too much).
In the meantime, the following invention is proposed for a box-type pet dryer in which a casing is foldable and it can be stored compactly.
Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3165766 (Patent Document 1) has proposes of providing a “box-type pet dryer” which is comparatively small in volume, can be disassembled without tools, and is safe. The proposed pet dryer is characterized by including a first plate body, an upper frame, two side plates, a lower frame, two forward lever bodies, and a door plate. The first plate body is provided with an upper connecting lever and a lower connecting lever so as to protrude, and the upper frame is rotatably connected with the upper connecting lever of the first plate body. A ceiling plate is provided, and a dryer is provided on the surface of the ceiling plate. The two side plates are pivotably connected with the first plate body with hinges. The lower frame is rotatably connected with the lower connecting lever of the first plate body, and the two forward levers are rotatably connected with front ends of the lower frame and the upper frame. The door plate is pivotably connected with a front surface of the upper frame with hinges.
However, the box-type pet dryer has a purpose to be mainly used for specific domestic pets. Thus, the pet dryer is not suitable for business use in simultaneously drying two dogs, a small-sized dog and a medium-sized dog, and the utility model registration does not disclose a structure for extending from a dryer for a medium-sized dog to a large-sized dog, nor disclosing measures in order to save energy by improving thermal efficiency.
Further, the following invention is proposed for a pet dryer in which a drying module is installed in a box body.
Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3166426 (Patent Document 2) has a purpose of providing a “pet dryer” which can dry the entire body of a pet which is finished with shower and entered into an accommodation space, can conveniently dry the pet speedily. The proposed pet dryer is characterized by including a box body and a drying module. The accommodation space is formed so that a door is provided inside the box body. An exhaust duct for discharging and sending air outside is provided on one side of the accommodation space. The drying module is attached to the box body. An accommodation chamber is formed for accommodating a dryer implement, and an air-intake duct for taking external air inside is provided to a side edge of the accommodation chamber. An exit through which thermal energy is discharged is formed on one side of the dryer implement, and a control valve for changing the discharging direction is connected with the exit. An extension tube for allowing the drying outside the box body is connected with one side of the control valve, and an introducing pipe communicating with the accommodation space of the box body is provided on the other side.
However, the pet dryer is not unitized or modularized in a form in which the box body and the drying module are easily assembled and disassembled. Further, the utility model registration does not disclose a structure for simultaneously drying two dogs, a small-sized dog and a medium-sized dog, nor disclosing a structure for extending from the pet dryer for a medium-sized dog to a large-sized dog.